1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to the area of Internet browser applications and more particularly related to a method and system for auto-navigation in a three-dimensional browsing environment.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the field of Internet browsing, the popularity of web sites may vary significantly. Most web sites employ various means to increase their number of visits (hits). By increasing their number of visits, the web sites are able to potentially charge higher rates for posting advertisements on their web sites. In addition, if a web site is offering products for sell, a more popular web site is likely to be able to sell more products.
Nevertheless, becoming a popular web site is difficult. Attracting first time visitors presents the challenge of initially informing the potential visitors of the web site""s presence. Prior techniques for attracting visits to web sites include simply presenting advertisements for a web site on television or on the radio or in magazines/newspapers. However, advertising a web site through the media may not be effective because the potential web visitor may not remember to visit the advertised web site the next time they are browsing the Internet. Alternatively, the potential web visitor may not remember the address of the advertised web site the next time they are browsing the Internet.
As a result, there is a need for an improved technique of attracting visits to web sites by presenting links to the web sites to be visited at a more effective time and place, which is more likely to produce increased visits to a web site. In addition, there is a further need to present the links of the web sites to be visited in fashion that is more likely to appeal to the curiosity of the potential web site visitors, in order to potentially increase the likelihood of a visit to the web site.
Furthermore, within a 3D environment, navigation may be achieved by moving around the environment. However, this navigation is often crude, requiring that the user indicate which direction to go and for how long (or continue indicating which direction to move) to get to a desired destination. Scrolling through the environment tends to be tedious, and mastering the controls used to indicate motion or otherwise controlling the environment may be difficult. Therefore, providing assistance for efficient navigation may be valuable.
A method for use in a three dimensional web browsing environment is described. The method, in one embodiment, includes receiving a jump request from one viewing point to another. The method also includes determining a destination from the current viewing point with respect to the jump request. The method further includes calculating a trajectory to the destination from the current viewing point. The method also includes displaying a set of views in animation form along the trajectory and displaying a view corresponding to the destination.